How many Facebook friends do you have?

Pleased that you have 400 close friends on Facebook? Sad that you only have 51? Well according to evolutionary anthropologist Robin Dunbar we can only have about 150 meaningful relationships at most: our brains aren't big enough for more. The number was derived by comparing the size of groups that species live in with the size of the brain and then extrapolating to humans. Interestingly enough, some recent neuroscience points to a correlation between the size of the amygdala and people's gregariousness. The amygdala's importance for emotion and fear in humans is well known but it turns out that the bigger it is the more outgoing you are. It's a correlation only of course.

Brain only matures in late 40s

I knew it.

Case studies

Case studies play no role in economics although there is some similarity with the "natural experiments" that are popular with some econometricians. In psychology, however, case studies have been very influential for example lesion studies where an individual's capacities have been compromised by some insult. Phineas Gage is the most famous perhaps. BBC Radio 4 is broadcasting a series on classic case studies that are well known in psychology. They include the case of a man who's vision was restored after 50 years, leading to an unhappy outcome, and Dora the famous patient of Freud, an association that also did not work out particularly well.

Inside the brain of a 5 year old: educational neuroscience

BBC Radio 4 recently broadcast an excellent documentary by Claudia Hammond on the emerging field of educational neuroscience: how insights from brain research can inform teaching practice. It also discusses various "neuro-myths" that teachers, like most people, may be susceptable to. The program can still be heard at the link below (but not for long, alas). However the web-links there provide useful introductions to this fascinating field.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rm072

Neuroscience and Politics

Thanks to Nicola for a link to this interesting article

link here

Truth, Torture and Memory

Torture techniques used on suspected terrorists by the Bush administration may have failed to get to the truth, researchers say.

Professor Shane O'Mara of Trinity College, Dublin, said the interrogation techniques had a detrimental effect on brain functions related to memory. His review is published in the journal, Trends in Cognitive Science.

BBC News story available here. Extract as follows: "Professor O'Mara said contemporary neuroscientific models of human memory showed that the hippocampus and prefrontal cortices of the brain were very important. The stress hormone, cortisol, binds to receptors in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex increasing neuronal excitability which compromises the normal functioning of the brain if it is sustained."

The theory extensions and practical applications of neuroscience

The 90's was officially designated the 'decade of the brain' usshered in by George Bush (ahem..) in July, 1990. What followed was an exponential increase in publications and attention (and attention publications) in the area of neuroscience. Science and nature became homes for the familiar 'light-up' fMRI brain images. Time magazine published 'a users guide' to the brain and a myriad of other such images dominated psychological media articles across the globe. Of course, this is great research and much of the coverage is warranted. However, one wonders to what extent this can be to the detriment of psychological theory and the study of behaviour in the laboratory and ecologically valid settings..

For instance, an article published last week in science asked 'Why can some people exert self-control whilst others have severe problems?'. The answer 'it's because the ventromedial prefrontal cortex encodes the value of a stimulus but the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex fails to down-modulate this value in line with your goals of course!! I think this is fantastic research and definitely adds an extra dimension to existing theory (the neural underpinnings). But I don't see entirely, how it extends the theory or how much of neuroscience research has lead to practical applications that couldn't be derived from the study of behaviour alone. If this is the case, investment largely in neuroscience or neuroeconomics (over psychology or economics)will constrain the development of the social sciences.

Take a recent article on practical implications of developments in neuroscience Neuroscience and education:
from research to practice . This article discusses the very novel idea of 'brain-based learning in school'.. prior to the article teachers must have trained another body part in the classroom.. Teachers can identify through behavioural tests if their students are right or left brained and then use this information to provide ‘left- and right-brain balanced’ learning...Another programme "Brain GymR prescribes a series of simple body movements “to integrate all areas of the brain to enhance learning”.".. still not seeing where the brain comes in aside from potentially assessing the neural effect of such a programme.

A third innovation "Whole-brain learning" is partially movement based and "enables students to access those areas of the brain previously unavailable to them." You are not trying a new movement therapy.. you are accessing a new brain area.. much better. Finally, the punch line "the effects of any type of training programme that changes behaviour will be reflected in the ‘remapping’ of neural networks." So we were doing brain-based learning all along!!